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Athens 2004 OlympicsAthens 2004 OlympicsOn August 13 to 29, Greece once again hosted one of the largest international events in the world, the Olympics. The 2004 Olympics was very special because it was hosted in Athens, Greece. Greece gave birth to the ancient Olympics in 776 B.C., and Athens was the first city in which the first modern Olympics was held in 1896. The 2004 Olympics hosted the largest number of athletes than ever before, 11,099, and in addition to that, also the most women compared to the previous Olympics. There were 202 participating countries, and it was also the first time that the Olympics flame traveled through all continents, during a course of 35 days, covering a distance of roughly 78,000 km. During the preparation for the Olympics, the Greeks drew many critics from all over the world, and this was mainly due to their rather laidback attitudes. In addition to that, their financial issues also somewhat hindered their progress in building the giant stadiums required for holding the games. Nonetheless, the Greeks persevered, and they successfully finished everything on time, and this drew many praises from the international world. It has been said that as the Zorba dance, which starts off very slowly and moves on to quicker pace, this is how the Greeks behave: they start off slowly, and later on catch up quickly. The Greeks, known for their warm and lively behaviours, created very spectacular opening and closing ceremonies, featuring rich Greek songs, dances, and choreography. Not only did they combine the performance of some of the best Greek performes, they also utilized sophisticated technology in the holographics show during the opening ceremony, and the firework show during the closing. Four Greek cities: Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklio and Volos, had the honour of hosting the Olympics. Each has its own tournament ground: the Panthessaliko Stadium at Volos, the Pankritio Stadium at Heraklio, the Kaftanzoglio Stadium at Thessaloniki, and the Pampeloponnisiako Stadium at Patras. The following is the final result of the Athens 2004 Olympics: Rank by Gold Country Name Gold Silver Bronze Total Medals 1 USA 35 39 29 103 2 China 32 17 14 63 3 Russia 27 27 38 92 4 Australia 17 16 16 49 5 Japan 16 9 12 37 6 Germany 14 16 18 48 Help our community! Please leave a comment or review, |
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